Therapeutic apparatus.



l. P. GARDNER.

THERAPEUTIC APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 12 1914.

Patented Dec. 17, 1918.

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I. P. GARDNER.

THERAPEUTIC APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 001,12. 19mv Patented Dec. 17,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES P. GARDNER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

THERAPEUTIC APPARATUS.

Application filed October 12, 1914.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES P. GARDNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Therapeutic Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates more particularly to machines or apparatus for giving external treatment. Its objects are to provide an exceedingly simple machine of this character which will also be effective in action, and may be readily adjusted for persons of different sizes or for different parts of the body, and also for varying the pressure of the treatment; to provide a machine of this character which will give a reciprocating motion to the rollers or contact members, and which may be adjusted to give a continuous movement to such devices; and in general, to provide such advantages and improvements as will appear more fully hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating this invention:

Figure 1 is a side view shown partially diagrammatically and with parts omitted or broken away for convenience -in illustration;

Fig. 2 is a plan view; and

Fig. 3 is a detail taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

As illustrated in these drawings, 4 represents a base, upon which is mounted an adjustable platform 5 for supporting the person to be acted upon. Four posts or uprights 6, 6 are secured to the base, and are connected at the top by a horizontal frame member 7, which is preferably made substantially U-shaped. The rear posts 6 are also connected by a second frame member 8. Two vertical rotatable shafts 9 and 10 are mounted in step bearings 11 on the base 4, and extend up through trunnions 36 and 37, which have their bearings 12 and 13 in the frame members 7 and 8. These shafts operate the treatment devices, and while any suitable means maybe provided for rotating them to give them oscillatory motion, or continuous motion, I have shown a preferred form of driving gearing. The shafts 9 and 10 are provided respectively with gears 14 and 15 adjacent to the lower ends thereof. A large gear 16, which is mounted in a bearing 17 on the base, meshes Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 17, 1918.

Serial No. 866,317.

with the gear 15. An idler gear 18, which s mounted in a bearing 19 on the base, is lnterposed between the gears 14 and 16 for the purpose of causing the shafts 9 and 10 to be driven in the opposite directions when the gear 16 is rotated. A pitman or connecting rod 20 is pivoted at one end, as indicated at 21, to the gear 16, and is pivoted at the opposite end to a worm wheel 22, which is mounted adjacent to the gear 16. The worm wheel is driven by a worm 23, which in turn is driven from any suitable source of power, such as the motor 24.

It will be seen that with the connecting rod 20 in the position shown, the rotation of the worm wheel 22 will give an oscillatory movement to the gear 16, which in turn will give a similar movement to the small gears 14 and 15. The length of the throw may, of course, be adjusted by adjusting the position of the pivots of the connecting rod; and, if desired, the outer end of the connecting rod may be pivoted at a point such as indicated at 25, on the gear wheel 16, so that such wheel will be turned a full revolution with each revolution of the worm wheel, and in this manner giving a continuous movement to the vertical shafts.

The shafts 9 and 10 are provided at their upper ends respectively with pairs of sprockets 26 and 27, for driving the pairs of chains 28 and 29. These pairs of chains also engage with other sprockets 30 and 31. as indicated. The sprockets 30 and 31 are mounted respectively on short shafts 32 and 33, which shafts are yieldingly supported in the outer ends of arms or swinging frames 34 and 35. These arms are pivoted at their inner ends concentric with the shafts 9 and 10 and are provided with trunnions 36 and 37, which extend through bearings 12 and 13 in the frame members 7 and 8, as inclicated.

The upwardly extending trunnions 36 and 37 of the arms 34 and 35 are provided with worm wheels 38 and 39. These wheels are engaged by worms 40 and 41, which are mounted on a cross shaft 42, having bearings 50 extending up from the frame memher 7. A hand wheel 43 is arranged on the shaft 42 at a convenient point, so that it may be operated either by the person in the machine or by an attendant. It will be seen that when the wheel- 43 is turned, the shaft 42 will turn the worms 40 and 41, which worms are pitched in opposite directions,

so as to turn the worm wheels 38 and 39 to swing the arms 3% and 35 toward or away from each other.

The outer ends of the arms 34 and 35 are provided with guideways for slidable bearings 4%, for the shafts 32 ant 33, which are both mounted in the same manner. Springs 4C5 are interposed between the bearings 4st and take-up members or followers $6, the latter being adjusted by means of screws 47, whereby the tension on the chains 28 and 29 may be regulated. The chains 28 and 29 are provided with brackets 48, which carry rollers 49 or similar devices for acting upon the body of the person to be treated.

The person to be treated ordinarily stands upon the platform 5, which is adjusted to bring the desired portion of the body in position between the opposite set of rollers. The motor is then started, which, with the connecting rod 20 in the position shown, gives an oscillatory movement to the sprockets 26 and 27, and these in turn give a reciprocating movement to the chains 28 and 29, and consequently to the opposite sets of rollers. The wheel 48 is then turned to swing the outer ends of the arms 34: and 35 inwardly until the rollers engage with the opposite sides of the body, and the pressure may be regulated by turning this wheel.

The sprocket wheels are made sufiiciently large so that the chains may yield to a considerable amount, thereby bringing the rollers in contact with a considerable portion of the circumference of the body, instead of merely along tangential lines. This is permitted by having the yielding bearings for the outer sprocket wheels, and the amount of deflection of such chains may be regulated by the tension on the chains. By having the large driving gear 16 and smaller driven gears for the shafts, the chains may be driven for any desired distance in either direction before being reversed to give the reciprocating motion. Furthermore, by changing; the pivot of the connecting rod to the point indicated at 25, the chains may be given a continuous movement, and in this manner the treatment may be varied as desired.

It is obvious that different mechanical expedients may be used for performing some of the various operations, and therefore I do not wish to limit myself to the exact devices shown and described, except as specified in the following claims, in which I claim:

i. In a therapeutic machine, the combination of oppositely disposed flexible carriers, means for supporting said carriers, vertically arranged rollers mounted on said carriers, and means for swinging said carriers bodily toward and away from each other.

2. In a machine of the character set forth,

the combination of oppositely disposed flexible carriers, a plurality of vertically arranged rollers mounted on each of said carriers, means for supporting said carriers, means for moving each of said carriers to give a horizontal reciprocating movement thereto, and means for swinging said carriers bodily horizontally to regulate the pressure of the rollers against a person positioned between the carriers.

3. In a therapeutic machine, the combination of oppositely disposed belts, yielding supports for said belts, a plurality of vertically arranged pressure devices carried by each of said belts, means for moving each of said ,belts horizontally in one direction and then in the opposite direction in order to give a reciprocating movement to the pressure devices, and means for oscillating the entire belts horizontally in order to move the pressure devices on the opposite belts toward or away from each other.

I. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a shaft, means for oscillating said shaft, a belt, a driving wheel on said shaft for driving the belt, rollers connected with said belt, an arm mounted concentrically with said shaft, a guide wheel at the outer end of the arm, for said belt, a yielding support in said arm for said wheel, and means for swinging said arm.

5. In a therapeutic machine, the combination of vertically arranged shafts, means for oscillating said shafts, arms mounted concentrically with said shafts, sprocket wheels mounted at the outer ends of the arms, chains carried by the respective sprocket wheels, body engaging devices carried by said chains, and means for swinging said arms.

6. In a massage machine, the combination of oppositely disposed belts, a plurality of vertically arranged non-yielding massage devices carried by said belts, means for supporting said belts, means for moving said belts to give a horizontal reciprocating movement thereto, and means'for swinging the entire belts horizontally to regulate the pressure of the massage devices against a person positioned between the oppositely disposed belts.

7. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a frame, a pair of shafts mounted in said frame, driving gearing whereby said shafts may be oscillated or rotated, a pair of sprockets on each of said shaft-s, a pair of arms, said arms being pivoted concentrically with said shafts, stub shafts at the outer ends of said arms, adjustable yielding bearings for said stub shafts, a pair of sprocket wheels mounted on each of said stub shafts, a pair of chains engaging with the sprocketwheels of each of the respective shafts and stub shafts, brackets carried by said chains, rollers mounted in said brackets, WO1I11 gears connected with the body of the person, said rollers being each of said arms for turning the same, reciprocated or given a continuous move- 10 WOIiIl'lS engagingdwith said gears, a shaft for ment, as may be desired.

saic Worms, an means for turning said shaft, the arrangement being such that the JAMES GARDNER person may stand between the oppositely Witnesses: disposed arms and the arms may be ad- LEE J. PITNER, justed to bring the rollers in contact With E. V. GUsTAFsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. h 

